SF will call for NO vote

Commenting on the Bill published today containing the wording for the
second Nice Referendum Sinn Fein European Affairs spokesperson
Aengus 6 Snodaigh TD said:

``The people will be voting on the same Treaty of Nice they rejected last
year. Neither the wording proposed to be inserted in the Constitution nor
the Declarations adopted at Seville can alter one syllable in the Treaty of
Nice.

``The Government is now proposing a new paragraph to be inserted in the
Constitution in addition to the two that were rejected by referendum last
year. The new wording states that the State shall not adopt a `common
defence' under Nice where that `common defence' would include the
State. But there is officially no `common defence' at present yet the
Government signed up to the EU Rapid Reaction Force, the core of an
EU Army. This amendment will not alter that position.

``The proposed wording does not adequately address the militarization of
the EU which will proceed if Nice is ratified here. The government has
failed to safeguard Irish neutrality in the Constitution, a key demand of
Sinn Fein, and one widely supported across the political spectrum.

``Our opposition to Nice is not solely based on the neutrality issue. Under
Nice a two-tier EU is created, dominated by the larger states.

``Sinn Fein will call for a NO vote. The fundamental issue is democracy
because the Government defied the decision of the people in referendum
last year and encouraged the other States to ratify, ensuring that the Irish
would `get it right' the second time around. If Germany or France or
Britain had rejected Nice it would have been dead in the water. This
proves the point that the Nice Treaty establishes a two-tier EU dominated
by the larger states.''